Motif Monday::High Art vs. Street Art

by heatherkp

Another Monday full of Motif’s for your inspired use! Today I’m sharing images from what I’m calling High Art, murals on the ceilings and walls in cathedrals and other ancient buildings. We visited the beautiful Saint-Martin Church in Saint-Remy-de-Provence that had a lot of great motifs on the walls and ceiling, quite deteriorated but lovely colors and timeless motifs. This particular cathedral is famous for it’s organ and attracts some of the worlds most renowned organists for the annual festival. This town is also famous because it’s the hometown of Nostradamus and right outside of town is the Saint Paul de Mausole hospital where Van Gogh spent time painting some of his most famous works of art.

The incredible gilded mural with the ship and peacock above right is from the Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde Basilica. This hilltop cathedral overlooks both the city of Marseilles and the French riviera. The inside is spectacular. Do some searches of your own on both of these churches for other images of the details. My photography is just a stepping stone for you to use to find other images and inspiration from these venues.

Another inspiring subject found all over France that caught my attention was Street art or Graffiti. It came in all shapes, colors and locations and often it was quite unexpected. I think it was the juxtaposition of the ancient buildings with these modern images and text that made for such intriguing subject matter.

Where do you find motif’s that inspire your work? Is it historic or modern interpretations that catch your eye the most?